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Getting a lot of questions this morning about my bracket. I’m kind of shocked how many people want to see it in light of how many of my upset picks seemed to miss by a few points last year.

Last year was tough for me. If you heard the show, you might have been impressed with what a gutsy bracket it was and how many teams I picked came close to pulling massive upsets. If you just started listening this year, you got tired of me complaining about last year’s bracket.

I have no problem talking a lot of trash to Gambo & Ash because I know Ash will bring them down. I will admit to you however, that this is the toughest bracket I’ve ever had. You wouldn’t believe how many scratch marks are on my bracket.

EAST

In the first round, I take the lower seed in every game except Arkansas and St. Joe’s. I really struggled with the S. Alabama game because it’s in Birmingham but Butler’s had too good of a year and it’s not a bad drive from Butler to B’ham so they might have some fans make the trip.

In the second round I go with the slight upset of ND over WASU but I hold to seeds with UNC winning the region.

MIDWEST

I’ll take the 9 and 10 seeds here but other than that I’m sticking to seeds. I really don’t like the Clemson/Nova game. Nova doesn’t belong in tourney but I’m sure they’re tired of hearing that and Clemson can really choke away a game when they’re comfortable but I’m going to trust them all the way to the Sweet 16. If you asked me if I thought Clemson was a Sweet 16 team, I would say no. If you ask me if I think Clemson will beat Villanova and Vandy, I am saying yes. Vandy has to hit threes to win and they don’t normally shoot well away from home (of course, I said the same thing last year and WASU shut-down the arc for 35 minutes and then let up at the end and lost to Vandy).

Good luck with what to do with Kansas State. Michael Beasley is so good he could win the whole thing for them. I’m warning you now you’re on your own on that game. I’m taking USC but don’t say I didn’t warn you. I really like Wisconsin over USC and G’town. USC likes to muscle people and you’re not going to out-physical Wisconsin. I need Hibbert to get into foul trouble to get the Wisconsin into the Elite 8 and I think I’ll get it. I’m very confident KU makes it out of this region and beats UNC to move on to the final game.

SOUTH

I’ve got two upsets here. Give me the 10 and I’ll choose my obligatory 12 seed here. My catch is I’m taking Temple over Pitt as well. I know Pitt is hot but so is Temple. Michigan State is really struggling and I don’t see them rising up.

The Marquette/Stanford game is the toughest on the board. I’m taking Marquette in a pressing game here even though the game’s in Anaheim. Am I worried about that pick? Yes. But I’ll be fine because no way does either team beat Texas in Houston in the next round. I include Memphis in that statement too. You have to have at least one #1 seed out of the final four and I’ll nominate Memphis.

WEST

I’m serving up three upsets. I’m taking the 9 seed for the third time (Miss St is the only 8 seed I went with). I’ll also order up an 11 and a 10. That’s right Ron Wolfley. The U of A is not only putting down the Mountaineers but they’re taking down Duke as well. This 10/2 upset is the biggest upset I have on the board. It is scary though to have Arizona winning only 100 miles from WVU, and then to have U of A losing 100 miles from Tucson. I’ll take UCLA over Xavier in the finals at the Purple Palace.

FINAL FOUR

Texas and UNC are my Saturday losers in San Antonio.

I’m rooting for KU in the final, but I’m not picking them. I got to know Bill Self while I lived in KC. He’s a great guy and a seam head just like me. He would actually eat lunch with the media after his weekly press conference and just talk about sports and life. He’s a great guy.

It’s too bad I consider him a friend and to then pick against him. Einstein said true ignorance is putting in the same data and expecting a different result. How many times will UCLA beat KU in the tourney before I accept it? Well, the answer is the last two tournaments.

I’m taking UCLA as the National Champion.